Frosting process



Nov. 22, 1932.

M. 1.. MESA FROSTING PROCESS Filed March 19. 1959 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 1932 UNITED, STATES mm LUISA mm, or new Yank, my.

FROSTING PROCESS 7 Application filed March is, 1930. Serial No. 431230.

This invention relates to processes for treating fabrics or other materials or articles in Which it is desired to produce asparkling or frosted eifect with the object of making to the eye, particularly inthe case of artificial flowers, tassels, lace, ornaments of various kinds, and the like, such for instance, as'

shown and referred to in my co-pending ap- 10 plication Serial No. 332,092 filed January 12th, 1929.. Y a

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a process of the nature specified which involves treating the fabric, ma-

15 terial or article witha solution ofa salt-in which the fabric 'or the like is dipped and allowed to dry, the salt forming crystals adhering to the fabric or the like after the solvent has evaporated, several such treatments being carried out in order to create varying effects or to secure larger crystals, the composition and nature of the solution being such that the crystals adhere firmly to the fabric or article.-

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter specifically pointed out, or will become-apparent, as the specification proceeds. I

With the above indicated objects in view,

. the invention resides in certain novel'steps and order'of steps clearly described in the followlng specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig.1 illustrates an ornament comprising a butterfly which has been treated by the herein described process.

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged section of a piece of fabric which has been treated in accordance with the first step of the herein 40 described process.

- Fig. 3 is a similar section of the same fabric after it has been treated to the secondstep of the herein described process.

Fig. 4 represents a portion of an ornament- '45 :11 fringe which has been treated in accord ance with the process embodying the present invention.

Fig. 5 represents an artificial flower which has beentreated in accordance with the here in described process.

' water It is frequently desirable in the manufacture of ornaments of various kinds such as tassels, artificial flowers and the like or of laces and fabrics of various kinds to produce 'the fabric, material or article more pleasingt a pleasing effect upon the article or material 5 by treating it in such a manner as to produce a frosted effect in one coloror in several colors as desired. The present invention contemplates the provision of an improved proc- I ess for producing the desiredefi'ects by impregnating the fabric or article with a strong solution of a salt in a manner about tobe described, the evaporation of the solvent causing the salt to crystallize upon the surface of the fabric thereby producing a frosted or sparkling efl'ect.

In order to accomplish the desired result, an aqueous solution-of a salt forming large and beautiful crystals is prepared, the salt being preferably of aEnon-poisonous nature, .a suitable adhesive agent such as gum arable pin the article in a suitable coloring solution suc as aniline dye which colors the crystals formed by the first steps and thereby produces very beautifuleifects. Preferably the process is carried out by preparing a solution by dissolving say one teaspoonful of gum arabic in two quarts of water, the whole being brought to the boiling oint. After the gum arabic has become t oroughly dissolved in the boiling one pound of ammonia alum is added, the whole being thoroughly stirred until all of the alum has become dissolved. This procedure produces a .hot solution ready for dip ing of the fabric or article. ,While gum ara ic and ammonia alum have been specified as the ingredients used in preparing the soluble in cold water. .Any material equiva-.

lent to gum arabic may also be used. The object of the gum arabic is to impregnate the fabric or article with an adhesive agent which will cause the crystals to adhere firmly to the fabric or article after the solvent has evaporated in the drying process. It is necessary of course thatthe salt and adhesive material used be of a nonpoisonous nature in order to make the crystalline coating on the fabric or article harmless. It is also desirable that the salt and adhesive material be only slightly soluble if at all in cold water so that the crystals will not be readily dissolved from the fabric or article.

. has become thoroughly impregnated with the hot liquid. The article is then removed and allowed to dry. As the liquid adhering to the garment cools and evaporates the concentration of the salt in the solution is gradually increased until the point of supersatura tion is reached and passed; wherupon, as the solution still further cools and evaporates, crystals begin to form and at the sametime the gum arabic separates out and hardens into a gelatinous binder holding the crystals firmly together and upon the article. Fig. 2 represents diagrammatically a fabric afterr it has been dippedonce and permitted todry-in the manner-just described, In this figure the numerals 1 represent the interwoven threads or fibres of the fabric while the numeral 2 represents the crystalline coat-r ing adhering to the threads or fibres. This first step produces fine and strongly adhering white crystals which sparkle whenheld in the light thereby producing a white frosted effect.

The next step is to again dip the article or fabric in the hot solution and again permit it to dry in the manner aforesaid. Fig. 3 illustrates the appearance of a section of fabric after the second coating of white crystalline salt has been formechthe numeral 3 representing thesecond coating of crystals. After the second dipping, the hot solution again cools and evaporates until the point of supersaturation is reached, whereupon the crystals already present upon the surface of the'fabric cause a rapid formation of crystals from the newly added solution with the result that larger and more beautiful crystals will be formed.

As the final step in the process the article or fabric is dipped in a coloring solution in vwhich the crystals are not soluble, such as a solution of an aniline dye and camphor dissolved in alcohol. As a result of this last step the crystals on the article or fabric will be colored according to the color of the dye and by choosing suitable colors very'beautiful efiects may be produced. "The final step.

in the process is the drying of the fabric or article thoroughly.

The whole result of the foregoing process is that beautiful crystals will be formed which adhere firmly to the article or fabric and are colored in accordance with the dye chosen. By choosing a salt-which is readily soluble in hot water but practically insoluble in cold water, crystals may be formed which adhere very firmly and yet are not readily washed ofl ifthe article should become moistened, since gum arabic is not easily soluble in cold water.

The foregoing process may be used in a variety of ways to create pleasing eflects upon articles, particularly articles composed of woven fabrics orfibrous materials. In

Fig. 1 there is shown a butterfly whicli has been cut from a piece of fabric and dipped in the frosting solution, from which it will be seen that crystals are clingin firml to the fabric'from which the butter y has en cut. The butterfly shown in Fig. 1 maybe madgfingseveral ways, one way being to dip the 1 1 e butterfly in the solution of ammonia alum, thereby covering the butterfly with white s arkling crystals. After the crystals have. een produced, portions of the "butterflys wings may be dipped in various coloring solutions so that each portion of the wings will be given a different color. By folding the butterfly through the center of its body and then dipping the fold including the antennae 4 in a black or brown solution, a butterfly will be produced in which the wings are beautifull colored while the body and antennae will in black or brown, thereby creating a pleasing effect.

In Fig. there .is shown a piece of fringe which has been treated by the process hdrem described from which it will be observed that there are numerous crystals adhering to the loose threads 5 forming-the fringe.

' Fig. 5 illustrates an artifical flower which has been treated to the within described process. Each of the petals 6 of the flower may be dipped to form a white frosted coating and afterwards each petal or group of petals may be dipped in a separate colo 'ng solution so that the petals and other parts of the flower when assembled will present a novel and pleasing appearance.

The process may also be used in other ways which will be readily understood from the foregoing brief description to produce a variety of effects. For instance, tassels, laces, or ornaments of various kinds may be treated either wholly or partly by the foregoing process. to produce desired color effects, and it is not desired to limit'the use of the process to the treating of any one fabric or article.

The hereinbefore described process and a siderable modification without departing from the invention, as the ingredients, proportions, conditions, steps and order of steps may be varied in practice; therefore, it is not wished to be limited to the precise order of operations and details shown and described, which are as aforesaid, by way of illustration merely. In other words the scope of protection contemplated is to be taken solely from the appended claims, interpreted as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A process of the character described which involves first dipping the article to be treated in a hot aqueous solution consisting of gum arabic and ammonia alum, then drying said article whereby said alum crystallizes upon said article and said gum arabic separates and hardens into a binder to firmly hold said crystals together, then again dipping said article in said hot solution, and again drying the article, thereby producing larger crystals, then dipping said article in a coloring solution, and finally drying said article.

2. A process of the character described which involves dipping the article to be treated in a hot aqueous solution consisting of gum arabic and ammonia alum, in the pro ortions of about one teaspoonful of. gum I ara ic to two quarts of water and one pound of ammonia alum. drying said article, wherev by said alum crystallizes upon said article, and said gum arabic'separates and hardens into a binder to firmly hold said crystals together, again dipping said article in said hot solution, a ain drying said article there by forming lar er crystals, then dipping said article in a co orin solution consistin of an aniline d e an camphor dissolve in alcohol, and nall drying said article.

In testimony w ereof I hereby aflix my signature.

MARIA LUISA MESA. 

